Coming Together
by Karianasan
Summary: Liked Breakfast? Well the gang has in store a bigger meal planned and has invited everyone to join them. Join the rest of the guests and the Gang brings everyone together for a before Thanksgiving Bash! Enjoy!
1. Housing Guys

Though it didn't matter how crazy things got, dinner time was a time to be shared with family and friends. Whether at home with a nice home cooked meal, or hanging out at a local restaurant; it was nicer to be eating together.

Unfortionitly with Thanksgiving coming up, a lot of people were busy for the Holiday. So arrangements had been made to gather everybody a bit early so they could all enjoy each others company without getting in the way of other pre-made plans.

Pete's Perfect Pizzeria was a local joint that was family owned. The two Italian brothers had settled down in the quaint little town of Coolsville and enjoyed sharing their Italian dishes with the locals. So it was easy to rent out the place for the special planned holiday get together the gang had in mind.

Everything had been planned and with the day upon them, all they had to do was get ready for everyone to arrive.

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The pizzeria was a flutter with movement. Daphne was manning the phones as Shaggy and Scooby were lending a hand and paw to help prepare for the extra amount of guests that had been invited. That left Velma and Fred to set up the tables in a way that everyone was close enough to enjoy others company but have enough room to get up. Plus there was going to be a kind of Buffet set up so it was easier then servering everyone individually. Though, as Daphne had thought of everything when it came to planning a party, she had made sure nothing was part of anyone's allergies or any special dishes had to be made were notified and prepared according to standard.

"Are those tables ready yet?"

Came a holler from the front room where Daphne had set up headquarters. Velma looked over with a sigh at Fred, as they shoved another table in place. They were part of the way done, but they had ways more to go. They were expecting more people then they had tables for, so much they had to borrow a few from friends and neighbors before hand. So it was taking a while to set up.

"Not yet Daphne!" Velma shouted back in response. Fred just smiled as he put down his end and moved to get the next table.

"Come on Velms. We better get a move on before she starts pulling out the bull whip and drums. Everything has to be perfect for everyone. I can't wait till people start showing up."

Fred was giddy. Gathering everyone together was fun, and some of them he hadn't been able to see in a while so it was going to be some night ahead of them. Velma sighed again.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I can't wait either but sometimes she really goes overboard with these plans for parties. You think we should have started this morning..."

It was a while before people would be arriving, so they should have enough time to set up. But with the frantic red head trying to make sure everything was perfect, it felt like the time was right around the corner. She didn't really understand why all the rushing. Even if people came early, wouldn't they just offer a hand rather then be possibly offended things aren't looking perfect? It was their friends and family after all.

"The only difference between now and in the morning, is the fact she would be milking a cup of black coffee in one hand and the phone in the other. That is probably the only difference." Fred said with a laugh. Velma had to laugh as well, he was probably right.

"Come on, give me a hand with this ta..." Fred was about to finish his sentence when a pair of large hands covered his eyes. They gripped him tightly enough that Fred was not able to pry the hands apart to cheat and see who they belonged too.

"Guess who..." Came a deep voice floating above his head somewhere. The voice was enough to give him away, but Fred decided to play his game.

"The Cheddar monster... no no wait. Chickenstien! No no, I got it, Commander Cool! No, That can't be it. I know, the Boogie Biker!"

Laughing, the hands pulled away from Fred's eyes and one arm wrapped around the guy to pull him close and give him a nuggie.

"About time you got it right." The bigger man behind him said with a laugh. "I was beginning to believe you forgot about me."

Fred struggled to get loose. The man behind him released him after doing the cosmetic damage to his friends hair and watched as Fred fidgeted it back into place.

"Come on Red, you think I would be allowed to forget the one time I wasn't allowed to accuse you and it turned out that you actually did it? No way. Plus you kinda have a familiar voice, it's hard to miss." Extending his hand, Red and Fred gave each other a firm friendly handshake.

"Nice to see you buddy. I hope we weren't to early." Red looked over and noticed Velma grinning at the two friends. He blushed in embarrassment for missing her and took off his cap and bowed. "Fine evening Miss Velma, pardon me for not saying so sooner."

"Pardon accepted."

She tried not to chuckle. Ever since he had come back from military school, he had always been overly nice to them all. In his effort to make up for all the rotten things he had done to them as kids. Personally Velma didn't hold any grudges, they were kids and now they are adults. Things happen and as long as he learned from his mistakes he didn't have to beat himself up for it. But part of what he had said earlier was puzzling her. "...We?"

"Oh, sorry. I talked to Daphne earlier and she said it wouldn't be a problem inviting some of the guys I work with along with me. I figure we would come a bit early to give you guys a hand. From what Daphne had been saying, you guys have a lot of people coming. So Helping out is our specialty. Come on in guys!" Red shouted over his shoulder at the group of rough looking guys who were milling about uncertainly by the front of the pizzeria.

As Red shouted, it got their attention and they wandered over to where Fred and Velma had been setting up the tables. It was a motly crew of four men, all looking different.

"Let me introduce you. These are the guys I work with with Habitat for Humanity. This is 'Spider' Jack Morgan"

The first guy was the littlest of the group. Though still taller then Velma. He was the odd man out of the group because of his smaller stature then the rest of the burly guys, but he was wiry looking. Which was good since that was his specialty.

"He's called Spider for a reason, this is the guy we trust with all the electrical wiring. And he skitters up and down the skeleton of the houses like one as well. But he's the best in the business and one to trust."

Scooting out of the small line they had formed for introductions, he moved to give a polite but awkward bow to Velma and tipped his hat to Fred. They were being overly polite, though nice it felt a bit odd. Taking a step back, he made room for the others to be introduced.

"The next is Baxter Persy."

A man standing almost as tall as Red took a step forward. While being similar to Red in body size, the rest of him was quite different. While Red's hair was curly and red, Baxter's hair was black, slicked back into a neat but long ponytail. Red had a goatee, Baxter's face was shaven though stubbly. He also had a pair of glasses sitting neatly on his short and stubby nose, the kinda nose it looked like a fight that happened long ago had made. He might have been scary to run across the street at night, but in the pizzeria light he looked more skittish then anything. He nodded to them both. Red grinned and leaned close to the two. Cupping his hand by his mouth, he whispered to them.

"He's afraid his wife might find out that he went to a party without her. She just thought it was going to be just all the guys. If she knew their would be such pretty ladies here, she would be jealous."

Velma shook her head, though blushed a little at the compliment. Being 'ladies' it did seem to mean it was her included. Fred nudged Red and grinned.

"Well he should have invited her as well. The more the merrier."

"Tempting, but I think it's better not to invite her. Two Red heads under the same roof would be scary." He paused, looking at a stray lock of his own hair that hung into view before laughing and changing his sentence. "Two lady Red-heads under the same roof."

"Ahhhh... Got it." Fred said with a grin, pointing his finger at Red in acknowledgment. Better to not ruffle the feathers.

"The last two are Twins, if you couldn't guess. Doesn't take a detective does it?" He said with a chuckle.

"Har Har." Muttered Velma, giving Red a tight lipped smile. Along with a roll of her eyes. Red seemed more amused, he still couldn't stop occasionally picking on them for fun. As long as it wasn't ill intended. He continued.

"Brett and Jasper Howell. And no relation to the crazy news lady." Red snorted.

"I had that name first." Jasper said in his own defense. He out of the two had slightly lighter hair. Though both were a sandy hair color, his was a smidgen lighter... though it could be the lighting. They were both a lighter build then Red and Baxter, but wider then the lean Jack.

Each of the guys had put on their best clothing for the occasion, but since it really wasn't to formal, jeans and nice t-shirts were acceptable.

"Well, nice to meet you all." Velma felt like curtsying to them all, since they had been so overly formal but since she would just look silly, she didn't. Though she knew Fred would have gotten a kick out of it and never let her forget that she did it. Heaven forbid if Daphne had found out, better she didn't, she thought.

"Come on guys, let's pitch in." With a nod from Red, the other guys moved to help with the tables.

"Let me help you with that little lady." Baxter came over and moved to try to help Velma with her side of the table. Fred was about to say something when Red cut in.

"Um, Baxter, she isn't the one going to be needing the help. Better get on Fred's side."

"Hey!" Fred snorted in his own defense.

Velma sighed. All she needed was some overly macho guy thinking she needed a hand. She had been just putting these tables up with Fred for the last while. It wasn't like he could have done the whole room by himself.

"Baxter, come here." Waving the man over, Red tried to cut in to make sure he didn't overstep his boundary's accidentally. Red had more then once been overwhelmed by Velma in the past, from being pulled out of a bush by his ankle, to her lifting his bike. She was stronger then she looked.

Shaking her head, Velma nodded to Fred as they easily lifted the table to set it in place where they needed it. Red pulled the man over and whispered into his ear.

"You know that guy there, and the lady in the front. Well add a full grown Great Dane and a guy around Jack's frame and close to our height and she runs around carrying that all the time. This is THE Velma Dinkley we are talking about."

Baxter's eyes had grown wide. He was only told that they were going to Red's friends party. Not that it was 'the Mystery Inc' gang's party. He knew Red knew them and they lived somewhere in Coolsville, but he never expected such famous people to be chilling out in a pizzeria. Let along be allowed for the ride. Him and his wife had always been big fans. She had been a fan of Daphne's for a long time, and now she would really kill him for not inviting her.

"My wife is going to kill me.... Um... Do you mind if I give her a call and invite her after all?" The large ox of a man looked meek and bashful. He was going to get wrath for lying a bit to her, but he hoped that being who was entertaining, she would forgive him. Red laughed and slapped him on the back.

"Let Daphne know, she'll loan you the phone. She's always eager to meet fans. Tell her to come over."

Skittering away, Velma's interest got perked as the man disapeared to the front. And it didn't help the look on Red's face. Wandering over to him as Fred helped one of the other guys, Velma thumbed over to where Baxter vanished.

"What's up with him?"

"Oh, he's calling his wife to come over. I bet she'll fly over here in a few minutes." Red said with a chuckle.

"What did you say that made him change his mind. I thought it was not best to have 'two redheads' under one roof." Velma said leaning up to tug on a loose curl that she could reach.

"Ow, heh heh. Yeah, that was before he found out who was hosting this little shindig." Red rubbed the back of his head where she had tugged. Hair was sensitive you know. It only took Velma a little bit before she put it together. But she didn't get a time to express it before Baxter came back.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry Ms. Dinkley. I apologize for earlier." The large man almost groveled at her feet. She felt like smacking her face with her palm. She almost wished for him being overly macho over this. Fred wandered over and peered at the man.

"Oh even a Ms. Dinkley. Big fan, eh?" He surmised. Velma sighed.

"Big fan." She stated. Today was just supposed to be a nice get together. Though it was nice to have fans sometimes, some of them went to far with their appreciation. They were just normal folks like everyone else, they just tended to get far more publicity for their actions. Red just was amused and went to give the other guys a hand. It was still so much fun to bug them. And Velma was to easy this way.

"Come on. That's enough of that." She stood the man till he was standing straight. Which was not to hard of a task, which surprised him as she almost lifted him off the ground. Red wasn't kidding she was strong for her size.

"Yes. I am myself. There. You have met me, now grab that side of the table and let's get this table in place." She sighed yet again. At least he was more then willing to help out now. He followed her instructions easily and he noticed that even though she was shorter then him, she kept pace with him moving the table into place. He figured that with their difference in height that their stride would be awkward, but it almost seemed like she was gliding across the floor with ease.

With the guys help, the tables got set up in record time. Oddly enough, the rough house builders were rather talented when it came to laying the table cloth and making sure the thin paper didn't rip. Well, except for Red, who was all thumbs. Then again, he was the only one of his crew that wasn't married and forced at one time or another by their wives to accommodate for guests. They fell inot loose chitchatting as they waited for Daphne's next round of orders or for more guests to arrive.

Baxter's wive Suzy came quickly, as expected. It was easy to know when she arrived as a shrill sound of happiness that only came out of a fangirl, echoed from the front of the shop. It was even loud enough that Scooby had peeked his head out of the kitchen to see who was making the racket. But at the sight of the two red heads bonding over their current outfits, he quickly disappeared into the safety of the kitchen.

"I'm so glad I'm not like that." Velma grumbled, though a bit envious of her best friend for having someone react to her like that. But then remembering how the man had reacted earlier, she was happy it didn't happen as often. On occasion was nice, too much was overdoing it.

Zipping into the main room where they had all been hanging out, Suzy gave her husband a kiss on the mouth before vanishing to give Daphne a hand. Baxter blinked at the sudden affection and stared aimlessly as she evaporated back to the front to give Daphne a hand. Red snickered and came up beside Baxter to clap him on the shoulder.

"I think she forgave you for not telling her where you were going."

"I guess so."

Fred strolled over and sat on the edge of the table next to Velma. Looking over at the guest that were already there, he sighed.

"Looks like this is the beginning of one crazy party."

"You said it. And it's only just started." She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.


	2. An Old Man Plus a Family

A while passed by and soon everyone in the main room was more relaxed and enjoying each others company. Having gotten over the whole 'famous people' thing, once the guys realized they were just normal people with normal attitudes, it was easier to talk. Of course Red had to leak out a few tales told from the hero's themselves, but other then that the conversation was light and pleasant.

Daphne and Suzy were getting to be good friends at the front. Even though they were different ages, it didn't seem to matter when it came to their conversations. After all, Fashion never aged, it always existed.

Daphne had converted the normal Pizzeria's ordering counter into her main fort. Numerous note pads and phones scattered the table as she was making sure everything was in place. Suzy helped by keeping a checklist of everything Daphne had been doing and making sure she had everything covered.

"Alright, now the band has been contacted and will arrive sometime in the next hour." Daphne started as she put down the phone.

"You even invited a band? How did you pay for that?" Suzy asked with wide eyes.

"I didn't have to pay for anything, they said they would be more then willing to show up. Actually, they have been bugging me for a while to come and visit, so I just gave them a reason too." Daphne said with a smug smile. It didn't take much to get them to come. And it had been far to long since she had seen them all.

"What band?" Suzy sat on the edge of her seat and clutched at the clipboard in her hands. It was so amazing to be sitting next to her idol, right there in the local pizza place. But there she was.

"Now now, that would ruin the surprise. Takes all the fun out of it." Daphne told the older woman. Even though she had a lot of work, part of the fun was the organization of it all.

A ringing of the pizzeria door brought both womens attention to the front door. A new guest had arrived. Pulling off his coat and hat, the man smiled at the two ladies.

"Oh ho. Such a lovely way to greet an old man."

Bounding over the counter, Daphne ran over to give the man a hug.

"Mr. McNallie! You came!" The old man smiled as the woman came to embrace him. He had always been attached to her, since she was always kind and visited him often in his shop in the mall. Even though she could always shop at the higher end stores in the mall, she never went to the mall and didn't stop in to at least say hi to him.

"Now now. I'm just one little old guy. You don't have to be so energetic." Mr. McNallies said in his own defense. Daphne snorted at his comment.

"Sure sure. Play the feeble old man routine for guests." Daphne thumbed in Suzy's direction, but she knew better. "Weren't you the old codger who was chasing the little kids off with his Mad scientist outfit this Halloween past? I remember hearing some kid say you threatened to turn him into a toad if he misbehaved."

"Well that was the least I would do. The little guy said my maps were a silly treat and that he would egg my house later. I was just defending my evil labora... my house, that's all." He told Daphne, placing his old and worn Fedora upon her head as he hung up his own coat on the nearby available coat rack.

"I'll just let myself in. Excuse me." With a loose wave of his hand, he meandered off towards the kitchen. Daphne had to chuckled at the man as she returned to her seat behind the counter. Suzy was a bit confused at the whole thing. Living on the other side of Coolsville, he looked familiar enough from her occasional visits to the mall. But he had been so friendly with Daphne, the famous Daphne Blake, that he had to be someone special.

"Who was that guy?" She asked. Daphne laughed.

"Mr. McNallie. A old friend of the family who's like the block grandpa. He's an old military man who retired here a long time ago. He runs a little Discount store in the mall. And he's know for being a map fiend, for some strange reason. Even I've never really figured it out. Shaggy and Scooby won't be getting as many secret taste tests with him watching over them. So we should be getting back on track." Daphne said with a nod.

Earlier one of the brothers had come out, complaining about how things mysteriously went missing when their backs were turned or when they seemed to blink a half of a second to long. And so they needed another hand inside to keep the guys on track. They still had enough time to get things ready, but now with the old man back there, things would be progressing on schedule.

Suzy was still confused, but she just chalked it up to being the life of Daphne Blake. Calling an old man to keep the famous duo in check must be a secret plan she had come up with. Velma was famous for her brain, Daphne for her sense-ability in things, Fred's plans and leadership, and the two of them were known for their stomachs.

Another clatter of the front door bell sounded off. The two ladies attentions shifted from the kitchen door to their new guests. It was a young girl, tugging on her mother's hand to drag the hesitating woman into the pizzeria.

"Come on Mom... We don't want to be late for the party!" The young girl, who was probably around ten years old, was trying to get her mother into the pizzeria.

"Now now dear, we mustn't rush. Does my hair look ok to you, dear?" Turning behind her, she talked back to her husband who was following behind the ladies with his son hanging back as well.

"Your hair looks fine." Daphne called out confidently. It was a rather nice perm, new from the looks of it. The woman must have gotten it done earlier that day.

"See Mom. Daphne says it's ok, it's ok." The younger girl tugged some more to bring her mom past the front door. At the name of Daphne, the mother perked up. She moved inside to look at the red head in earnest.

"Does it really look ok?" She patted the side of it, just to make sure.

"Miguel must have done it, didn't he? He's always a sucker for a nice perm." Daphne nodded sagely. She had contacts with all of the hair dressers in the area. And she bet that he was the one behind her perm. It was his style after all.

"How did you know?" The older woman wandered in, in amazement. For she was right. Daphne clapped her fist to her palm.

"I knew it. It's that curl her gets from using that new Digital perm machine he got from Korea. It always makes the curls look a certain way so that you could tell it was done by a machine. It's more of a dry look of the curls like you would get from a curling iron, a 'Hot perm'. Rather then the loose wet perm look from chemicals, usually called a 'cold perm'. I personally like the wet look, but I look silly with all those curls. My hair is too long."

Daphne mentioned as she hefted her hair in her hands. Her long loose wavy red hair flowed like water between her fingers. They looked like the kind of hair they would have in a commercial about some hair product. The young girl's mother stood with her mouth open in wonder. Even when she was younger, her hair never looked so luxurious. She would have to get her secret, even if it took her all night. The young girl shook her head and moved further into the room to peer back into the main room where she was hearing the sound of talking.

"What's you name?" Asked Suzy from the chair as Daphne and the girls mom chatted away about hair and proper maintenance.

"Marcie. And that's my mom Jennifer. Oh and behind me is my stupid brother Michael and my daddy Anthony. We're here for the party. Is Velma here?" Marcie asked, looking up at the older woman. Suzy shrugged.

"I saw a lady back there, but I'm not sure. I didn't get a good look at her." Suzy commented. She wasn't really paying much attention to who was all back there with her husband. She only kissed him and then darted back to talk to Daphne.

"Well, she's tall. And got Glasses and should be in an orange sweater." Marcie nodded. It was usually what Velma wore for the most part. And even though Velma was short over all, she was taller then the ten year old Marcie.

"I did see someone in orange, and some guy in a really bright white shirt and an ugly orange ascot..." Suzy started before Marcie cut her off.

"That must be Velma and Fred back there. Thanks nice lady, see you at the party." Dashing off to the main room, Marcie zipped away. Suzy shrugged and watched her brother sigh and followed reluctantly after his sister. Shaking her head, she shrugged. It was certainly turning out to be an interesting party.


	3. RSVP

Leaving the main room, Fred made his way to where Daphne was still hard at work. Suzy and Jennifer had gotten into a conversation and floated to the back room to give Daphne some more space to concentrate. Velma had occupied herself making the introductions of Red and his crew to Marcie and the rest of her family that trailed after her. So Fred had felt a bit left out and wandered to where Daphne was taking a short break to sip on some soda that Scooby had brought out for her.

"Sheesh, all this work sure works up a thirst." She said as he came into hearing distance. " Want some?" She offered him her cup. He politely refused.

"You're working harder then me. All yours." He said with a smile, taking up the stool that Suzy had been sitting on earlier. He peered at the discarded clipboard and looked over the scribbled notes. It was in far better condition then his own hand writing. He wondered if she was a secretary or something.

"So how's it going." Fred spoke, not lifting his head from the clip board as he looked over the small notes littering the thing. It seemed to be a mixture of hair notes and little snippits of things, like the words 'band' with a question mark by it. Daphne finished her sip and gulped down the big mouthful before answering.

"Looks like the girls will be coming. And old friend of mine and Shaggys offers his apologies, but the great Vincent won't be able to make it."

"Wasn't he some stage magician you and Shaggy met a long time ago when you worked for that teen magazine for a while?" Fred had recalled a being told about some of it, but it had been a long time ago so his memory as a bit fuzzy.

"Yeah, something like that. But somethings come up and he won't be able to make it. But he said he was thankful for the offer. I guess he doesn't get away from work to often. He's got to keep an eye on his young apprentice after all."

"Oh yeah, there was another. Some kid right? What was his name again..." Fred pondered, Daphne was quick to fill him in.

"Flim Flam. Nice kid, but kinda a handful."

"Poor Vincent then, I hope he can keep up."

"I think he's up to the challenge. Oh, Scooby's brother called and they can't make it either." Daphne quickly changed the subject.

"Oh, er... Which brother?" Fred wondered. Scooby did have way to many relatives to keep handle on them all. Daphne laughed.

"You got that right. It's the one Scrappy was running around with for a while. Yabba Doo, and his partner Dusty."

"Oh yeah, the deputy of that little town. I kinda remember them, but it's a bit fuzzy. Most of the Doo's all look the same you know." With At least four siblings, a bunch of nephews and cousins, it was hard to keep track of them all.

"Oh, and Velma will be happy. I wasn't." Daphne grumbled.

"Oh?" Fred looked over and leaned on the counter interested. At the face she made it had to be someone she wasn't thrilled to talk to.

"Johnny." Daphne almost spat his name. Fred laughed aloud, almost falling off the stool. Daphne rolled her eyes and waited till Fred calmed down from his giggle fit.

"Hee Hee... Johnny... The Johnny?" He tried to stop laughing, turning them into suppressed snickers.

"Yeah, 'THE' Johnny." Daphne sighed hard. She really didn't like the guy. Not only was he obnoxious, he had clung to her for a long time before finally falling for Velma. He was always trying to show off and pose in front of her. And she didn't want to even remember how many times he had jumped into her arms. She really didn't know why Velma fell for the guy, but she was thankful it didn't last.

"What did the old muscle head, blondy have to say for himself?" Fred chuckled.

"Something along the lines that he couldn't make it, but if I wanted him to come he would make an exception. As long as it was just us." Daphne made a face.

"Heh, sounds like him alright. But, I didn't think Velma even wanted him invited." Fred said puzzled.

"She... Didn't. And I didn't call him either."

One eerie pause later.

"Well, he's not coming, so that's good." Daphne commented with a reassuring nod.

"Good. And we don't have to tell Velma. She's better not remembering." Fred mentioned with a nod as well. A guy even his Aunt Jebadissa didn't love. "... So who's left on the list?"

"Well, Shaggy's little buddies, Thomas and Daniel haven't gotten here yet. Jacob called and said he was running late, but he promised he would be here. The runt is catching a Taxi to get here, and the parents should be coming around shortly."

Daphne looked on her own list and nodded as she seemed to have everyone account for, or at least had RSVP'ed in the last while.

"It sounds like you got everything on hand. Why don't you go and join everyone else for a while and mingle. You know you want to." Fred taunted, making shoo'ing gestures with his hand. "You can take the cell phone with you if you want, and I'll man the front greeting everyone else who is coming in. I'll call you in anything else comes up. Now go... Shoo shoo!"

Holding up her hands in surrender, she slid off the stool she had been on and laughed.

"Alright alright. But I WILL be taking my phone. Well, just in case."

"Sure sure, go and have fun. I'll man the doors."

Leaning over, she gave him a kiss on the cheek for being thoughtful. All the work and so many people chatting away was making her antsy to join them all. And since everything was on schedule, she could relax for a little bit... At least until the families started to arrive.

As she disappeared into the main room, Fred switched to her seat that she had abandoned. Seconds ticked away before he realized that he was going to have a long wait unless someone showed up. He sighed, hoping someone would come soon.


	4. Of Parents and Photography

It was the first time that day, Shaggy had emerged from the kitchen when Fred had called out to him. Peeking his head from the door, he was greeted by cheerful exclamations from his two little buddies.

Sure, Scooby was his number one best buddy and best pal, but that didn't mean he couldn't have more then one. Scooby was just top dog, in more ways then one.

"Thomas! Daniel! Like' it's great for you guys to make it." Shaggy came out and fell to a knee so that the two young boys were able to give him a hug. Since they lived in the same neighborhood, Shaggy had run into the boys several other times in the park. Also a few times with Scooby, who the boys had been scared at first about. But soon they had all become friends, and sometimes Shaggy and the gang had been called to keep an eye on the two boys. It turned out that Shaggy's mom had babysat the young mother of the two boys and also had been called upon to give the little ones a place to stay while their mother had to do something.

"Grammy Magi brought us here!" Chirped the happy Daniel. Grammy Magi being the nickname the two little boys had taken a shine to for calling Shaggy's mother, named Marjorie. Looking up, Shaggy noticed his mother, father and little sister standing there waiting for him to notice. He blushed for missing them, and detached the kids from around his neck to give his give his family a warm hug.

"I'm like' so glad you guys could make it."

"You think we would miss coming to a party you guys took all the time to put together? Silly brother." Chuckling, Maggie gave her older brother a hug, ruffling his hair though it wouldn't make it any worse then normal.

"Now stand up straight Norville, you have guests here." His mother chided. Shaggy responded by trying to straighten up as best as he could. Giggling, Daniel and Thomas copied the older man's silly rigid posture, though they quickly fell to the floor laughing instead. Shaggy wished he could as well.

"Now now, be easy on the boy." Came the level headed words of his father. "He's probably been hard at work over a hot oven. He's probably got that way from working so hard. It would give anyone a crick in the back. Relax son."

Shaggy was thankful for his father's kind words. Plus it was also important to obey the local sheriff.

"Rello... Rello." Came the sounds of the trotting hound, already greeting company before he even got out of the kitchen. As the Dane poked his head around the corner, he first noticed Thomas and Daniel. He made a quick dart and was beside the two boys, washing them with doggy kisses. A cough from Samuel, Shaggy's father, Scooby looked up. Parting, his scruffy counterparts parents moved out of the way to show the other two visitors that had come along for the ride.

"Rada r'and Romsy Doo!" Dashing from the two boys, Scooby scrambled across the pizzeria floor to give his parents a hug. Nuzzled and licks were exchanged as they switched to their native tongue, though it seemed like Momsy Doo was lecturing her son about not washing behind his ears enough and if he had cleaned his paws well enough before coming out. Mom lectures traversed languages.

Fred watched as the two guys wandered into the main room with the families to introduce them to everyone else who came before. Thomas and Daniel had vanished as well, leaving Fred alone by the front.

Leaning back, he wondered how the cooks were doing. With the Duo out of the kitchen, it must have been a relief back there. Slipping off the stool, he placed it back on its four feet and poked his head back into the kitchen.

"How's it going back here?" Fred watched as the two brothers ran about, getting things ready. Hearing the sound of Fred's voice, Mr. McNallie looked over from where he had been supervising. He gave Fred a wave, recognizing him from all those times the poor guy had been conned to be Daphne's bag boy. Not to mention they lived on the same block.

"Howdy Fred. Everything peachy back here. Thanks for hauling those two hogs out from under foot. I'll be getting things out soon. Is everyone here yet?" The old man wondered, shouting a bit to get over the din of all the cooking food around him.

"Not yet, but most of the people have arrive. We are still waiting on a few more still." Fred responded.

"Ah, good. I'll have to make an appearance soon. Got to keep face, eh? Keep up the good work Frederick!"

Shaking his head, Fred pulled himself out of the hot kitchen. It wasn't like he disliked his full name, it just sounded weird sometimes coming out of some people.

"Freeeeeeeederick!" The sing song voice chimed out from behind him. It was not hard for the man to identify the voice of the woman calling his name. Turning around, he gave a wave.

"Hiya Mom."

"Don't Hiya mom me, mister. Come and give your mommy a hug!" Waving her arms, Peggy Jones signaled for her son to come around the counter and give her a big hug. With the sigh only a son could make because of his mother, he came over and gave his mom a hug.

**_FLASH!_**

"Looking good Freddie boy!" Chirped his father, who of course had his camera in hand. It was not hard to see how his uncle had gotten into the magazine business with his older brother, Fred's dad, taking pictures of anything and everything. And sometimes getting himself to excited, Skip Jones sometimes didn't hold the camera steady and made for some interesting pictures.

Leaning out an arm, Fred tried to get his father closer to hug him as well. But his mother wasn't letting go, so it was making it hard.

"Um, Ma... Can you let up a bit?" He mumbled into her hug.

"Oh, sorry. I don't know my own strength." Releasing him from the hug, Fred stumbled back only to be caught by his father. He gave him a rough hug, pulling him off the ground from behind before he was dropped to his feet. Wobbling, Fred caught himself on the counter while his feet regained their strength. Though he was almost knocked over as Skip gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"Alright Buddy boy, we're off to join the hullabaloo! Keep up the good work son!"

And as quickly as they came, the two parents faded into the growing mass of guests into the main room. But as the first flash entered the mass, a shadow came darting behind the counter.

Peering from behind the safety of the large object, a shaky brunette head peeked over the counter top. Wide eyes looked at the main room behind thick, black glasses.

"Your... Parents are here... Aren't they?" Came the shaky voice trying her hardest to hide. Fred didn't need a clue to know who it was. And not only because of her voice or look, but on the fact she absolutely hated her picture being taken for the most part.

On a mystery was fine, but other then that... Velma was petrified of camera's. Well, it wasn't as bad as her fear of clowns, but she certainly didn't like getting it taken. She always felt self conscious.

"But you always look so natural in those photos." Fred commented, having scene many a pictures that his father had taken of the younger woman. When she didn't know it was coming, she usually took a great photo, but once she knew it was coming, she ran for the hills.

"..." She stayed silent for a while, having seen those pictures too. But a few good pictures didn't make up for her dislike of being photographed. "...Still." She grunted out.

"Well, come and keep me company out here. I don't think they will be coming out any time soon. The rest of the guests should occupy them for a while."

Fred thought about it, yeah. There was enough people in there to keep his father's camera happy for now, at least until food arrived. She wouldn't be able to hide then. Unless she didn't want any, though then what would have been the whole point of the party if everyone wasn't there.

Calming down, she knew Fred was right. She just hoped he would run out of film eventually... But it was unlikely, even she knew that. Stupid digital cameras. Sometimes she wished technology wasn't so helpful at times. At least when it came to being a hindrance to her.

A chuckling sounded out in front of them. As the ruckus in the main room had diverted their attention, someone else had entered into the pizzeria. They didn't even notice the jingle of the bells placed above the door.

"What, no hello?" Came the deeper voice of the new guest. He looked neat in the pressed suit he was wearing, with a crisp tie set around his neck. He had taken off his trench coat and laid it over his hand as he reclined against the wall waiting for them to notice him.

"Sorry Jacob, my Father's causing trouble." Fred threw a thumb in the main rooms direction. The constant flashing of the camera was enough to give some idea of what was going on. Though most were not as camera shy as Velma was.

"Hahaha. That's Skip for you." The man responded, pushing off the wall to hang up his coat on the rack. It was starting to look a bit heavy, since everyone was using it for their jackets. It was around the time of the year that things started to get colder, but it wasn't fully winter yet.

"How have you two kids been?" Jacob asked, walking further into the room and chose to sit in the seats placed by the counter usually used for waiting customers.

Though they normally didn't like being called kids now, (being adults after all) certain people were able to get away with it. As long as the word, 'meddling' wasn't in front of it. Though the silver that streaked his hair did give him a bit more room as well. Velma gestured to the commotion going on in the room beyond.

"Business as usual. A little bit of this, a little bit of that." For everything, they life was never really considered all that normal. And this chaos, was certainly a prime example. Though Jacob didn't see to much oddity to it, just a bunch of friends having a good time together in each others company.

"Ha ha. Got ya. Though that looks like fun." Jacob nodded his head towards the direction of the hubbub. It had been a long time since he got to roll of up his sleeves and loosen his tie. It was a chance he had been looking forward too for a while, ever since he had been invited to this crazy shindig.

"Have at." Velma snorted, not wanting to join him since Skip was still at it. She might have mistaken the room for having strobe lights, if she didn't know better. This was a family Italian restaurant, not a rave club. Waving her hands, he grinned and grasped Fred's hand in a quick hand shake before darting into the main room.

"Crazy man." Velma mumbled, sinking against the counter top. Fred smiled back at her, leaning against the front edge he had been using to prop himself up earlier with.

"Well, he is a Lawyer."


	5. Kids These Days

It was a rush after that.

Velma didn't have much time to hide when her parents came and asked her to introduce them to the rest of the guests. She couldn't argue against her Mother Marilyn, or Father Harold, but shot back a pitiful look at Fred as she was dragged off to the main room. Though they might seem short, they easily plucked their daughter off the ground and took her into the other room. Fred chuckled, and hoped his father would get a few good shots of her tonight, to add to the growing collection. Sure, his father had pictures of all the gang. But since he was such a addict to his camera, he usually made albums of everything that went on that he would go to, as long as his camera was allowed. And it didn't help that his mother was a big fan of Scrap booking, and kept books to keep track of all the mysteries they had been apart of. If it had been in the paper, news or anything, she had it in her collection.

Must be why he liked collecting things so much.

The guest list was dwindling of who else had not shown up. Wandering in on the phone, Daphne seemed preoccupied with her conversation. Fred listened in on the one side, wondering who might be on the phone.

"I know, it's alright that you guys are going to be a little bit late."

Ah, it must be one of the last group of guests. Though which one, Fred was not sure. So he continued to listen.

"Ah, I totally understand. The plane had done that to me before as well."

Ah, that narrowed down the list. There was only two groups he knew that had been flying in that had yet to arrive. Unless there was someone else not on the list he had in front of him, at least.

"Alright, make sure all your luggage is in one piece. We need everything together for you guys to make an entrance. You're going to rock the house! Alright, uh huh. Yeah. See you guys when you get here. See you soon."

And she hung up. With a grin, she shot a thumbs up to the curious Fred.

"The band's landed, and will be heading off soon to get here. I just hope all their instruments made it here in one piece. I have had trouble some times with that airport with my luggage." Daphne snorted at the memory. Fred chuckled.

"Maybe if you didn't bring so many, they would have less to bang up." He dodged a swat aimed his way, but it was true. She didn't often travel light for trips. She had at least a four bag minimum.

"Oh Hush you."

"Now dear. Be nice." Came the jingle of the front door and the chiding words of her mother. It seemed the day of being lectured by mothers. But it had been a while since they had seen them all. Mothers quota after all.

"Come here dear." She called out to her daughter who moved quickly to oblige.

"Hi Mommy, Daddy." Daphne reached out and hugged them both, roping her father as he came through the door. He grinned and lightly patted his daughter on the head. Being mindful not to muss the hair, or earn the daughters wrath.

"Was your trip ok? I hope it wasn't to long of a drive." Daphne asked her parents. Her father had a important business meeting earlier that day up state, but even that wasn't going to stop him from coming to the party that night. Though he was unhappy he was one of the last people to arrive, it was a cost he was willing to live with. After all the meeting had gone well.

"Don't worry, it went perfect! Now, how about showing us around a bit?"

With both parents on either side, Daphne walked back into the main room.

Fred sighed. He hadn't planned to be manning the doors this long. Ad the party sounded fun for a while now, mocking him that he was stuck watching the door. Crossing his arms, Fred leaned on them and sighed again. He only got to sulk a little bit before a hand fell on his shoulder. Perking up, Fred looked around to find Mr. McNallie grinning down at him.

"Go on boy. Go have fun." He nodded his head towards the main room. "I'll greet the rest of the guests. There shouldn't be to many left, right?"

Fred nodded, looking alot happier with the offer.

"Yeah, there is only one more pair, and the band. I think that's all." Fred looked over the list and nodded.

"Then get yourself back there." He gave Fred a shove which pushed him off the stool and on his feet. "Oh, and send those two bums back to the kitchen to help. The brothers said they they will be ready to place the food out and could use a hand. Maybe you can get that burly looking bunch to lend a hand as well."

Fred nodded, already on his way into the room. He wanted to rush, but he slowed himself down from rushing straight inside. He didn't want to seem uncool for being overly excited or anything like that. For he was the coolest cat in Coolsville... At least his ego liked to think that sometimes.

Mr. McNallie chuckled as he watched Fred hold himself back and stroll into the room to join the others.

"Kids these days." Muttered a soft voice from the door.

Looking up from the counter, Mr. McNallie smiled at the new arrival. Giving the man a hand gesture similar to one tipping a hat. He would have done it for real had Daphne not still been wearing his. The older man by the door nodded his head at the gesture, acknowledging it. The man looked very neatly cut and very proper. Though most of his hair had gone white, he kept it properly maintained and distinguished looking. As a man of his stature should be, especially with the company he keeps.

Compared to his friend by the door, Mr. McNallie looked like a ragged bum, but he liked it that way. Far more comfortable. Yet the two older gentlemen were close cohorts.

"Can't live with them, can't live without them. Eh Jenkins?"

The butler smiled, his eyes with a soft look to them as he gazed at the room beyond. He nodded his head and decided to take a seat near where Mr. McNallie was manning the desk. His older body was in no rush to really join the young folks enjoying themselves in the other room. He rather settled down in the seat that customers used and appreciated the company of his friend.

"I would offer you a smoke... if I smoked or if the place allowed it." The raggedy old man offered, Jenkins looked up an gave a small laugh.

"I would accept your offer... If I smoked as well."

Mr. McNallie slapped the counter, and gave a snort of a laugh in response. There was a reason he liked the company of this man.

"Touché old man. Touché"


	6. Dramatic Entrance, Final Guests

While the two old men enjoyed each others company, Shaggy and Scooby led the proceedings of lugging the food to their rightful spots and getting everything set up.

Thankful for getting some rest, Pete and his brother Dante were glad that Shaggy took up the mantel to put the food out. They felt accomplished for cooking such a large menu, but was also glad that it was not an everyday happenstance. It also made them appreciate in comparison how easy the lunch and dinner rush was normally compared to the meal they had just prepared for the last countless hours.

"Like' come on gang, follow me."

It was a rather comical scene as the lanky beatnik and scruffy Dane led the way for the band of house builders. The procession lead to the main buffet tables where they, Velma and Fred had set up earlier. Along with Red and his crew, the rest of Mystery Inc fell into step to help out.

Like a line of Ants, everyone moved to get in row and lend a helping hand. It was not like the family and friends wanted to sit still while their hosts took all the fun out of it. The only one who didn't join right away was Skip, who happily took pictures as the line broke into an assembly. As the food moved instead of being trucked in and out by individual people, moved by being passed from person to person down the line till the reached it's destination. The idea quickly plucked from the air by the two exhausted Italian cooks who were afraid of to many people poking their heads into their kitchen at once. While the kitchen might have been big, having everyone inside at once was a bit too much.

But that didn't take away the fun, and it made the task move fast.

The line was throw together, so the mix up of the guests was random as it traversed down the line. From Baxter, passing the plate to Elizabeth Blake. Making sure to pass the plate to Dada Doo and slap his hand if it got dangeriously close to swiping something off the passing plates. No matter how appetizing it looked. The father Dane then passed it Jacob who was finding the whole thing terribly amusing and passed it to Velma. And so on it went, down the line mixing it up and starting conversations that might not have begun had the odd idea not come to pass.

Jennifer and Marjorie also hung back from the line, taking care of the kids who wanted desperately to join the others. But some of the plates were larger then they were, so it was better to leave it to the older people.

Time passed quickly and before everyone knew it, they were done setting up.

"Does that mean we can eat now?" chimed in little Daniel, anxious to dig into the delicious food that was flooding the room with it's intoxicating smell. More the one mouth had been watering, but only out of the mouth of babes did their greed come aloud.

"Now now." Came the voice of motherly reason, which made more then one stomach groan at the soon to be loss of opportunity. "We can't eat yet until everyone arrives."

"Isn't everyone here?" Perked up the question from one of the guys, though who it wasn't easy to guess in the still mix up. Everyone had gathered around the food, they had clustered.

"Almost." Daphne responded.

"Are we the last to arrive?" Came a voice from the front of the room. The last bit of the sentence coming out a bit of a pubescent squeak that the gang knew.

"Nah Melvin, we can't be the last ones. Come on!" Trotting into the room, another Dane raced to join the group. Almost crashing into a group since he hadn't known the layout of the room or expected everyone to be so clumped together.

"Whoa! Hello everyone! Scrappy's here! And Melvin too!"

Trying to keep up with the energetic puppy, his poor teen owner tried to trot after him, but with no luck. Leaning over, he panted as the Dane had ran most of the way to reach here. Their plane had been a bit late and the taxi had gotten lost, twice.

Resting a hand on his shoulder, an older man helped keep Melvin steady as he caught his breath. Looking up through his cracked glasses, Melvin saw the face of the smiling Mr. McNallie.

"Take it easy son. It's alright. You got her in one piece."

Nodding, Melvin took a few gulped breaths to regain himself as his Dane pet went ahead and started greeting the other guests for him. He leaned on the old man's hand, which seemed stronger then he would have figured. But then again he was an old war vet, not that Melvin knew that.

Sliding up to the two, Daphne stopped long enough to give her old butler Jenkins a hug before coming beside them.

"I thought you were watching the doors for Guests."

Mr. McNallie continued to support Melvin as he looked up at the slightly bristled Daphne. He just smiled a calm smile.

"Yep, I was watching the doors."

"Well, what if..." Daphne was about to speak more when he held up a finger to silence her. She looked at him puzzled when he gestured a thumb behind him.

"I only said I would watch it till the last guest arrived. They just wanted to make a... how did she put it... Dramatic entrance."

_Click!_

Suddenly the whole room went dark. An oddly familiar tune started creepily in the darkness, getting louder and louder as it got to the main part of the song.

~I'm going to cast a spell on you.  
You're going to do what I want you too!  
Mix it up here in my little bowl.  
Say a few words and you'll loose control!~

Flashing on, the light came back suddenly. Mainly since one, Fred Jones, was manning the main breaker and switched it on for the proper effect, just in time for the main line giving away who was performing.

~We're the Hex Girls! And we'll put a spell on all of you!~

Cutting the song short, it was exactly what the girls had planned. And the sudden cheer signaled the desired effect. Bursting into applause, the guests all cheered for the band, loving every moment of it.

Darting to where Daphne had been standing, Suzy came up to her wide eyed. She was stuttering and pointing in the Hex Girls direction.

"You.. you you you you." Suzy stammered. Mr. McNallie sighed and waved his hand at the girl.

"Well spit it out young lady, we don't have all night." It was enough to knock her sentence back on track.

"You know the HEX GIRLS! Oh My gosh this is just so COOL! I so have to thank my husband for inviting me along. Thank you for inviting me as well... Oh what am I going to tell the girls." As soon as she appeared, she vanished as well. Leaving Mr. McNallie almost slack jawed at her speed.

"Darn kids these days. Why in my day..."

"Now now." Daphne stopped him before he went on a rant, though she knew he was only joking. "... Come on. It's about time we all got together to eat."

Walking away, Daphne started to gather everyone together. Mr. McNallie snorted that she saw right through his grumpy man disguise. He was to nice for his own good. Though he didn't realize that he was still holding up Melvin by the wrist, since he hadn't let go. And the boy was looking up at him.

"What?"

"In you day, what happened?" Melvin asked honestly, having never really spent any time with his grandfather, he had always wondered how people lived back then. Mr. McNallie saw the honesty in his eyes and smiled, letting the boy go.

"...I'll tell you later if your still interested. We got some grub to eat. Get a move on."

"Yes'sir!"


	7. And To All a Good Night

It took little time to gather everyone together so that Daphne could address all those who had shown up that night.

"Welcome everyone! New friends and old! Since each of us had other plans for Thanksgiving, we felt like it would be nice to start the holiday a bit early so that we could have everyone attend."

Walking up beside his red hairs companion, Shaggy stood beside her. Placing an arm around her shoulders, he took up her speech. Even though it was impromptu and on the fly, he knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"We are thankful for the meal that has been like' prepared for us tonight. And for all the work that has been done in getting it ready. We have to thank Pete and his graciousness for letting us rent this find establishment. And for his lovely kitchen, and his patience of him and his brother for putting up with me and Scoob!"

"Here here!" Came a shout from the audience, with a few suspicious on who's father it had come from.

Sliding up on the other side of Daphne, Velma took the stand next. Even Skip's camera didn't bother her, since this was the point of why they had all gathered together. To enjoy the day that had been given to them.

"We give thanks for the weather, making it an easy trip from those who had been traveling here by foot." She gestured to the families that had taken a stroll to get to the local Pizzeria.

"...To the planes that flew ok in the nice weather and made a safe landing." She made a motion towards the Hex Girls, Melvin and Scrappy, and even Jacob who had made his way all the way there by plane.

"May the night continue to be with us, when the night comes to a close and we have to eventually head home."

She would have held up a glass if she had one, but she had not thought about it on the spur of the moment. Though no one else had one either, so it wasn't so bad. Fred came up and plopped a hand upon Shaggy's shoulder, settling at his side for his turn.

"So let us celebrate early, the day of Thanks. For things that were. For things that are right now. And that which will be!"

"RETS R'EAT!"

Before the gang could get to sappy, the Great Dane came in at the perfect moment to get a rise out of the audience! A cheer came up from the on lookers of the speech and everyone smiled. The gang had to laugh, since it had been getting to serious for their own good, today was a day to have fun. Collapsing on one another, they showered the Dane with praise.

"Like Scooby said! Dig in everyone!" Fred shouted as he gave the dog a good ear scratching, making sure not to bop Daphne in the nose as she ruffled his head, and Velma scratched his back.

Getting the two Italian brothers off their feet, they were quickly swept into the precession to food and integrated along with everyone else. A make shift line shuffled along the buffet as everyone took their first of many plates.

Throwing Daphne's brilliant seating arrangement to the wind, everyone wanted to clump together to talk that the chairs, and the tables were pushed to make room on the floor for the masses. Like a picnic gone wrong, they all shuffled about on the floor talking and getting to know everyone else sitting around them.

It didn't matter who it was, everyone became friends that night. Thankful they had the chance to talk to a stranger. Brought together by a small group of friends who had touched them all, in one way or another. Who would have guessed that the ruffled bunch of people who sat on the floor that night, were the fabled Mystery Inc.


	8. Authors Note

_**Authors Note:**_

_Thank you for reading this all!_

I hope it came out alright as I wrote this in one go, late one night after coming home from work.  
(around 6 crazy hours straight)

I had been thinking about how sometimes Thanksgiving is overlooked, and wanted the gang to make sure they decided to take time to appreciate the little things, like Friends and Family. Well, maybe not so little.  


_So make sure you keep Thanksgiving in mind this year. Don't let Christmas cover up a pleasant holiday and a great time to enjoy great food and great company!_

_Have a good one!_

~Toki


End file.
